Hungary endorses NATO-Ukraine scheme.
Hungary won't contribute to NATO's plans to strengthen support for Ukraine, yet won't block the initiative either. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban consented to this under certain terms- Hungary won't provide monetary or military support.
There's an agreement in place as confirmed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following a meeting with Orban in Budapest. Thus, Hungary isn't obligated to contribute financially or directly to the NATO plans. Furthermore, Orban ensured he would not hinder the project.
"Hungary will not block decisions NATO members approve," Orban clarified. Despite differing opinions regarding the approach to resolving the Ukraine conflict between Budapest and other NATO allies, he acknowledged that a significant number of opinions opposing their own exist. Orban further noted that this isn't something Hungary can amend.
The Orban administration actively maintains cordial connections with Russia. Ever since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, Orban has endeavored to prevent Ukraine's accession talks with the EU, delayed Western sanctions, and thwarted monetary and military assistance offers. He pinned responsibility on the EU for bringing the conflict to their doorstep. In his perspective, Ukraine cannot overpower Russia. Now, however, reassurances have been received that Hungary won't be compelled to engage in actions beyond NATO territory. The meeting between Orban and Stoltenberg was "productive" and resulted in a "satisfactory accord", Orban added later.
The primary focus of the new NATO initiative for Kiev entails coordinating weapons deliveries and military training for Ukrainian armed forces. There’s hope for its commencement at the upcoming NATO summit in July in Washington. It's also viewed as a safeguard in case Donald Trump returns as US President in January 2025. Trump's past statements had sown seeds of uncertainty over whether the US would continue supporting Ukraine in the defense war against Russia like before. There's concern within the alliance that a revised political direction in Washington could also influence the coordination of weapons deliveries and training activities for the Ukrainian armed forces.
Thus far, the United States has undertaken this task by setting up a 300-strong unit named Security Assistance Group-Ukraine (SAG-U) at their Army Europe headquarters in Wiesbaden at the end of 2022. A similar number of personnel is being planned for NATO's team.
A tentative title currently being used within the alliance for this project is "NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine" (NSATU). Prior to this, most NATO members advocated for "NATO Mission Ukraine". Nonetheless, the German government insisted on the rechristening since it could be misconstrued to suggest that the alliance was dispatching soldiers to Ukraine. This shift in terminology was meant to prevent Russia from using it as propaganda against the alliance.
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Despite Hungary's reservations towards the NATO-Ukraine plan, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban confirmed that Hungary won't block the initiative, even with differing opinions regarding the Ukraine conflict between Budapest and other NATO allies. Despite Putin's potential objections due to Hungary's past actions, Hungary's contacts with Russia will not hinder its support for the NATO-Ukraine plan.
